Mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

In a mobile terminal of the present disclosure, the open portion of an extended part is covered when a state is changed to a second state so that the inside of the mobile terminal can be protected, the mobile terminal comprising: a first frame; a second frame moved in a first direction from the first frame so as to change from a first state to the second state a central bracket rotatably coupled to one side of the first frame or the second frame; and a spiral spring having an inner end portion fixed to the central bracket, and an outer end portion fixed to the other side of the first frame or the second frame, wherein the spiral spring is spirally wound in the first state and unwound in the second state.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal having a flexibledisplay while varying in size.

BACKGROUND ART

Terminals may be generally classified as mobile/portable terminals orstationary terminals according to their mobility. Mobile terminals mayalso be classified as handheld terminals or vehicle mounted terminalsaccording to whether or not a user can directly carry the terminal.

A display device is a device having a function of receiving, processing,and displaying a video that a user may watch. For example, the displaydevice receives a broadcast selected by the user from broadcast signalstransmitted from a broadcasting station, separates a video signal fromthe received signals, and displays the separated video signal on adisplay.

In recent years, because of a development of a broadcasting technologyand a network technology, functions of the display device have also beenconsiderably diversified, and a performance of the device has beenimproved accordingly. That is, the display device has been developed toprovide not only broadcast contents but also various other contents tothe user. For example, the display device may provide game play, musiclistening, internet shopping, user customized information, and the likeusing various applications as well as programs received from thebroadcasting station. In order to perform such extended functions, thedisplay device may be basically connected to other devices or networksusing various communication protocols, and may provide the user with anubiquitous computing environment. In other words, the display device hasevolved into a smart device that enables connectivity to a network andcontinuous computing.

Recently, a flexible display, which has sufficient elasticity, and thus,be able to be deformed largely, has been developed. A size of the mobileterminal may be varied using a deforming property of the flexibledisplay. In such a mobile terminal having a variable structure, a changein structure of the mobile terminal must be performed stably, and asupport structure of a variable display included in the mobile terminalmay be problematic.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a mobile terminalcapable of covering a portion exposed inside the mobile terminal whenthe mobile terminal is expanded using a spring which is extendedaccording to a change in the size of the mobile terminal.

Technical Solutions

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a mobileterminal may include a first frame; a second frame configured to switchfrom a first state to a second state by moving in a first direction fromthe first frame, and to switch from the second state to the first stateby slidably moving in a second direction opposite to the first directionin the second state; a third frame movable in the first direction or thesecond direction with respect to the second frame; a flexible displayunit including a first region coupled to the first frame, a secondregion coupled to the third frame, and a third region located betweenthe first region and the second region and bent while surrounding thesecond frame; a central bracket rotatably coupled to one side of thefirst frame or the second frame; and a spring having an inner endportion fixed to the central bracket and an outer end portion fixed tothe other side of the first frame or the second frame, wherein thespring is spirally wound in the first state and unwound in the secondstate.

The central bracket may rotate around an axis of a thickness directionof the mobile terminal. The spring may cover a third-directional sideportion and a fourth-directional side portion, each of which isperpendicular to the first direction of the second frame in the secondstate.

The second frame may further include at least one bezel decorationlocated at the front surface of the display unit when viewed from athird-directional side portion and a fourth-directional side portionwhich are perpendicular to the first direction.

The central bracket may rotate around an axis of the third direction,and the central bracket may cover an open space formed by movement ofthe bezel decoration when the first state is switched to the secondstate.

The mobile terminal may further include a main board mounted inside thefirst frame and including a wireless communication unit. The first framemay include a first front portion to which a first region of the displayunit is coupled; a second rear portion arranged to be spaced rearwardfrom the first front portion; a first side portion located at athird-directional side portion and a fourth-directional side portionthat are perpendicular to the first direction, and interposed betweenthe first front portion and the second rear portion; and a connectionportion extending inward from the first side portion and connected tothe wireless communication unit of the main board.

The second frame may further include: a second front portion located ata rear surface of the first front portion; and a second side portionlocated between a side surface of the display unit and the first sideportion at an end portion of the second front portion, wherein thesecond side portion is disposed farther forward than the connectionunit.

The first frame may further include a separation plate located at a rearsurface of the second front portion.

The first frame may further include a guide rail coupled to the secondframe, and configured in a manner that an end portion of the separationplate is inserted into the guide rail so that the guide rail moves.

Advantageous Effects

As is apparent from the above description, the mobile terminal accordingto the embodiments of the present disclosure can protect the insidethereof by covering an opened portion of an extended portion formed whenthe mobile terminal switches to a second state.

The mobile terminal can support the extended flexible display, so thatusability can be improved even in the extended state of the mobileterminal.

In addition, a user input unit, an interface unit, an antenna, etc. canbe installed at a vertical side portion of the mobile terminal, so thatconstituent components of the mobile terminal can be arranged in alimited space.

Further scope of applicability of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by illustration only, since various changes and modificationswithin the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from this detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a mobile terminal according toone embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows perspective views respectively illustrating a first stateand a second state viewed from one side of a mobile terminal accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows rear face views respectively illustrating a first state anda second state of a mobile terminal according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows cross-sectional views respectively taken along a line A-Aand a line B-B of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exposed portion formed when themobile terminal is extended.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an antenna connection method accordingto the shape of a side portion of a second frame.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mobile terminal havinga spring.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a spring for covering an extensionportion of a mobile terminal according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 10(a) is a cross-sectional view illustrating the mobile terminaltaken along the line C-C of FIG. 8 , and FIG. 10(b) is a cross-sectionalview illustrating the mobile terminal taken along the line D-D of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of a mobile terminalhaving a spring.

BEST MODE

Description will now be given in detail according to exemplaryembodiments disclosed herein, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. For the sake of brief description with reference to thedrawings, the same or equivalent components may be provided with thesame reference numbers, and description thereof will not be repeated. Ingeneral, a suffix such as “module” and “unit” may be used to refer toelements or components. Use of such a suffix herein is merely intendedto facilitate description of the specification, and the suffix itself isnot intended to give any special meaning or function. In the presentdisclosure, that which is well-known to one of ordinary skill in therelevant art has generally been omitted for the sake of brevity. Theaccompanying drawings are used to help easily understand varioustechnical features and it should be understood that the embodimentspresented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such,the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any alterations,equivalents and substitutes in addition to those which are particularlyset out in the accompanying drawings.

It will be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may beused herein to describe various elements, these elements should not belimited by these terms. These terms are generally only used todistinguish one element from another.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected with” another element, the element can be directly connectedwith the other element or intervening elements may also be present. Incontrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connectedwith” another element, there are no intervening elements present.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is used only to describespecific embodiments, not intended to limit the present disclosure. Asingular representation may include a plural representation unless itrepresents a definitely different meaning from the context.

Terms such as “include” or “has” are used herein and should beunderstood that they are intended to indicate an existence of severalcomponents, functions or steps, disclosed in the specification, and itis also understood that greater or fewer components, functions, or stepsmay likewise be utilized.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

The mobile terminal 100 is shown having components such as a wirelesscommunication unit 110, an input unit 120, a sensing unit 140, an outputunit 150, an interface unit 160, a memory 170, a controller 180, and apower supply unit 190. Referring now to FIG. 1 , the mobile terminal 100is shown having wireless communication unit 110 configured with severalcommonly implemented components. It is understood that implementing allof the illustrated components is not a requirement, and that greater orfewer components may alternatively be implemented.

More specifically, the wireless communication unit 110 typicallyincludes one or more modules which permit communications such aswireless communications between the mobile terminal 100 and a wirelesscommunication system, communications between the mobile terminal 100 andanother mobile terminal, communications between the mobile terminal 100and an external server. Further, the wireless communication unit 110typically includes one or more modules which connect the mobile terminal100 to one or more networks.

To facilitate such communications, the wireless communication unit 110includes one or more of a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobilecommunication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short-rangecommunication module 114, and a location information module 115.

Regarding the wireless communication unit 110, the broadcast receivingmodule 111 is typically configured to receive a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast associated information from an external broadcast managingentity via a broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may include asatellite channel, a terrestrial channel, or both. In some embodiments,two or more broadcast receiving modules 111 may be utilized tofacilitate simultaneously receiving of two or more broadcast channels,or to support switching among broadcast channels.

The mobile communication module 112 can transmit and/or receive wirelesssignals to and from one or more network entities. Typical examples of anetwork entity include a base station, an external mobile terminal, aserver, and the like. Such network entities form part of a mobilecommunication network, which is constructed according to technicalstandards or communication methods for mobile communications (forexample, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Code DivisionMulti Access (CDMA), CDMA2000 (Code Division Multi Access 2000), EV-DO(Enhanced Voice-Data Optimized or Enhanced Voice-Data Only), WidebandCDMA (WCDMA), High Speed Downlink Packet access (HSDPA), HSUPA (HighSpeed Uplink Packet Access), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A (Long TermEvolution-Advanced), and the like).

Examples of wireless signals transmitted and/or received via the mobilecommunication module 112 include audio call signals, video (telephony)call signals, or various formats of data to support communication oftext and multimedia messages.

The wireless Internet module 113 is configured to facilitate wirelessInternet access. This module may be internally or externally coupled tothe mobile terminal 100. The wireless Internet module 113 may transmitand/or receive wireless signals via communication networks according towireless Internet technologies.

Examples of such wireless Internet access include Wireless LAN (WLAN),Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Digital Living Network Alliance(DLNA), Wireless Broadband (WiBro), Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA),HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access), Long Term Evolution (LTE),LTE-A (Long Term Evolution-Advanced), and the like. The wirelessInternet module 113 may transmit/receive data according to one or moreof such wireless Internet technologies, and other Internet technologiesas well.

In some embodiments, when the wireless Internet access is implementedaccording to, for example, WiBro, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE,LTE-A and the like, as part of a mobile communication network, thewireless Internet module 113 performs such wireless Internet access. Assuch, the Internet module 113 may cooperate with, or function as, themobile communication module 112.

The short-range communication module 114 is configured to facilitateshort-range communications. Suitable technologies for implementing suchshort-range communications include BLUETOOTH™, Radio FrequencyIDentification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra-WideBand(UWB), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wireless-Fidelity(Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Wireless USB (Wireless Universal Serial Bus), andthe like. The short-range communication module 114 in general supportswireless communications between the mobile terminal 100 and a wirelesscommunication system, communications between the mobile terminal 100 andanother mobile terminal 100, or communications between the mobileterminal and a network where another mobile terminal 100 (or an externalserver) is located, via wireless area networks. One example of thewireless area networks is a wireless personal area networks.

The location information module 115 is generally configured to detect,calculate, derive or otherwise identify a position of the mobileterminal. As an example, the location information module 115 includes aGlobal Position System (GPS) module, a Wi-Fi module, or both. Ifdesired, the location information module 115 may alternatively oradditionally function with any of the other modules of the wirelesscommunication unit 110 to obtain data related to the position of themobile terminal. As one example, when the mobile terminal uses a GPSmodule, a position of the mobile terminal may be acquired using a signalsent from a GPS satellite. As another example, when the mobile terminaluses the Wi-Fi module, a position of the mobile terminal can be acquiredbased on information related to a wireless access point (AP) whichtransmits or receives a wireless signal to or from the Wi-Fi module.

The input unit 120 includes a camera 121 for obtaining images or video,a microphone 122, which is one type of audio input device for inputtingan audio signal, and a user input unit 123 (for example, a touch key, apush key, a mechanical key, a soft key, and the like) for allowing auser to input information. Data (for example, audio, video, image, andthe like) is obtained by the input unit 120 and may be analyzed andprocessed by controller 180 according to device parameters, usercommands, and combinations thereof.

Such cameras 121 may process image frames of still pictures or videoobtained by image sensors in a video or image capture mode. Theprocessed image frames can be displayed on the display unit 151 orstored in memory 170. In some cases, the cameras 121 may be arranged ina matrix configuration to permit a plurality of images having variousangles or focal points to be input to the mobile terminal 100. Asanother example, the cameras 121 may be located in a stereoscopicarrangement to acquire left and right images for implementing astereoscopic image.

The microphone 122 is generally implemented to permit audio input to themobile terminal 100. The audio input can be processed in various mannersaccording to a function being executed in the mobile terminal 100. Ifdesired, the microphone 122 may include assorted noise removingalgorithms to remove unwanted noise generated in the course of receivingthe external audio.

The user input unit 123 is a component that permits input by a user.Such user input may enable the controller 180 to control operation ofthe mobile terminal 100. The user input unit 123 may include one or moreof a mechanical input element (for example, a key, a button located on afront and/or rear surface or a side surface of the mobile terminal 100,a dome switch, a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like), or atouch-sensitive input, among others. As one example, the touch-sensitiveinput may be a virtual key or a soft key, which is displayed on a touchscreen through software processing, or a touch key which is located onthe mobile terminal at a location that is other than the touch screen.On the other hand, the virtual key or the visual key may be displayed onthe touch screen in various shapes, for example, graphic, text, icon,video, or a combination thereof.

The sensing unit 140 is typically implemented using one or more sensorsconfigured to sense internal information of the mobile terminal, thesurrounding environment of the mobile terminal, user information, andthe like. For example, the sensing unit 140 may alternatively oradditionally include other types of sensors or devices, such as aproximity sensor 141 and an illumination sensor 142, a touch sensor, anacceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, a G-sensor, a gyroscope sensor,a motion sensor, an RGB sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a finger scansensor, a ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor (for example, camera121), a microphone 122, a battery gauge, an environment sensor (forexample, a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, a radiation detectionsensor, a thermal sensor, and a gas sensor, among others), and achemical sensor (for example, an electronic nose, a health care sensor,a biometric sensor, and the like), to name a few. The mobile terminal100 may be configured to utilize information obtained from sensing unit140, and in particular, information obtained from one or more sensors ofthe sensing unit 140, and combinations thereof.

The output unit 150 is typically configured to output various types ofinformation, such as audio, video, tactile output, and the like. Theoutput unit 150 is shown having a display unit 151, an audio outputmodule 152, a haptic module 153, and an optical output module 154. Thedisplay unit 151 may have an inter-layered structure or an integratedstructure with a touch sensor in order to facilitate a touch screen. Thetouch screen may provide an output interface between the mobile terminal100 and a user, as well as function as the user input unit 123 whichprovides an input interface between the mobile terminal 100 and theuser.

The audio output module 152 is generally configured to output audiodata. Such audio data may be obtained from any of a number of differentsources, such that the audio data may be received from the wirelesscommunication unit 110 or may have been stored in the memory 170. Theaudio data may be output during modes such as a signal reception mode, acall mode, a record mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcastreception mode, and the like. The audio output module 152 can provideaudible output related to a particular function (e.g., a call signalreception sound, a message reception sound, etc.) performed by themobile terminal 100. The audio output module 152 may also be implementedas a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, or the like.

A haptic module 153 can be configured to generate various tactileeffects that a user feels, perceive, or otherwise experience. A typicalexample of a tactile effect generated by the haptic module 153 isvibration. The strength, pattern and the like of the vibration generatedby the haptic module 153 can be controlled by user selection or settingby the controller. For example, the haptic module 153 may outputdifferent vibrations in a combining manner or a sequential manner.

An optical output module 154 can output a signal for indicating an eventgeneration using light of a light source. Examples of events generatedin the mobile terminal 100 may include message reception, call signalreception, a missed call, an alarm, a schedule notice, an emailreception, information reception through an application, and the like.

The interface unit 160 serves as an interface with various types ofexternal devices that can be coupled to the mobile terminal 100. Theinterface unit 160, for example, may include any of wired or wirelessports, external power supply ports, wired or wireless data ports, memorycard ports, ports for connecting a device having an identificationmodule, audio input/output (I/O) ports, video I/O ports, earphone ports,and the like. In some cases, the mobile terminal 100 may performassorted control functions associated with a connected external device,in response to the external device being connected to the interface unit160.

The memory 170 is typically implemented to store data to support variousfunctions or features of the mobile terminal 100. For instance, thememory 170 may be configured to store application programs executed inthe mobile terminal 100, data or instructions for operations of themobile terminal 100, and the like. Some of these application programsmay be downloaded from an external server via wireless communication.Other application programs may be installed within the mobile terminal100 at time of manufacturing or shipping, which is typically the casefor basic functions of the mobile terminal 100 (for example, receiving acall, placing a call, receiving a message, sending a message, and thelike). It is common for application programs to be stored in the memory170, installed in the mobile terminal 100, and executed by thecontroller 180 to perform an operation (or function) for the mobileterminal 100.

The controller 180 typically functions to control overall operation ofthe mobile terminal 100, in addition to the operations associated withthe application programs. The controller 180 may provide or processinformation or functions appropriate for a user by processing signals,data, information and the like, which are input or output, or activatingapplication programs stored in the memory 170.

To drive the application programs stored in the memory 170, thecontroller 180 may be implemented to control a predetermined number ofthe components mentioned above in reference with FIG. 1 . Moreover, thecontroller 180 may be implemented to combinedly operate two or more ofthe components provided in the mobile terminal 100 to drive theapplication programs.

The power supply unit 190 can be configured to receive external power orprovide internal power in order to supply appropriate power required foroperating elements and components included in the mobile terminal 100.The power supply unit 190 may include a battery, and the battery may beconfigured to be embedded in the terminal body, or configured to bedetachable from the terminal body.

Some or more of the components may be operated cooperatively to embodyan operation, control or a control method of the mobile terminal inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, theoperation, control or control method of the mobile terminal may berealized on the mobile terminal by driving of one or more applicationproblems stored in the memory 170.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a mobile terminal according toone embodiment. Further, FIG. 3 shows perspective views respectivelyillustrating a first state and a second state viewed from one side of amobile terminal according to one embodiment. Further, FIG. 4 shows rearface views respectively illustrating a first state and a second state ofa mobile terminal according to one embodiment. Further, FIG. 5 showscross-sectional views respectively taken along a line A-A and a line B-Bof FIG. 3 . In these drawings, FIGS. 3 (a), 4 (a), and 5 (a) show afirst state of the mobile terminal, and FIGS. 3 (b), 4 (b), and 5 (b)show a second state of the mobile terminal.

As shown, a mobile terminal 100 in a first state is contracted, and hasa smaller size than the mobile terminal 100 in a second state. Inaddition, a size of a display unit 151 located disposed on a front faceof the mobile terminal 100 also becomes smaller than that of the displayunit 151 in the second state. The mobile terminal 100 of the first stateis expanded in a first direction D1 to be in the second state. In thesecond state, the size of the mobile terminal 100 and a size of a frontface of the display unit 151 are larger than those in the first state.In a following description, a direction in which the mobile terminal 100and the display 151 thereof are extended or enlarged is referred to as afirst direction D1, a direction in which the mobile terminal 100 and thedisplay 151 thereof are contracted or retracted, or reduce to beconverted into the first state from the second state is referred to as asecond direction D2, and a direction perpendicular to the first andsecond directions D1 and D2 is referred to as a third direction.

The mobile terminal 100 of the present disclosure may be converted fromthe first state in which the display unit 151 is positioned on the frontface of a bar-shaped mobile terminal as shown in FIG. 3 (a) into thesecond state as shown in FIG. 3 (b) by enlarging a screen thereof. Inthe second state, an area of the front face of the display unit 151 isenlarged, and an area of a rear face of the display unit 151 is reducedas shown in FIG. 4 (b). That is, the display unit 151 positioned on arear face of the mobile terminal 151 in the first state moves to thefront face of the mobile terminal 100 in the second state.

As such, the display unit may use a flexible display unit 151 that maybe bent such that the position of the display unit may be varied. Theflexible display is a lightweight, unbreakable, and durable display thatis built on a thin and flexible substrate that may be bent, crooked,folded, twisted, or rolled while retaining properties of a conventionalflat panel display.

In addition, an electronic paper is a display technology to whichproperties of general ink are applied. The electronic paper may bedifferent from the conventional flat panel display in using reflectedlight. The electronic paper may change information using a twisted ballor electrophoresis using a capsule.

In a state in which the flexible display unit 151 is not deformed (e.g.,a state of having an infinite curvature radius, hereinafter referred toas a basic state), a display region of the flexible display unit 151becomes flat. In a state in which the flexible display unit 151 isdeformed by an external force from the basic state (e.g., a state ofhaving a finite radius of curvature, hereinafter referred to as adeformed state), the display region may become a curved face. As shown,information displayed in the deformation state may be visual informationoutput on the curved face. Such visual information is implemented byindependently controlling light emission of sub-pixels arranged in amatrix. The sub-pixel refers to a minimum unit for implementing onecolor.

The flexible display unit 151 may be in a curved state (e.g., avertically or horizontally curved state) rather than a flat state in thebasic state. In this case, when the external force is applied to theflexible display unit 151, the flexible display unit 151 may be deformedinto the flat state (or a less curved state) or more curved state.

The flexible display unit 151 may be combined with a touch sensor toimplement a flexible touch screen. When a touch is made on the flexibletouch screen, the controller 180 (see FIG. 1 ) may perform controlcorresponding to such touch input. The flexible touch screen may beconfigured to detect the touch input in the deformed state as well as inthe basic state.

The touch sensor detects the touch (or touch input) applied on the touchscreen using at least one of various touch schemes such as a resistivefilm scheme, a capacitance scheme, an infrared scheme, an ultrasonicwave scheme, a magnetic field scheme, and the like.

As an example, the touch sensor may be configured to convert a change inpressure applied on a specific portion of the touch screen, capacitancegenerated at the specific portion, or the like into an electrical inputsignal. The touch sensor may be configured such that a touch objectapplying a touch on the touch screen may detect touched position andarea on the touch sensor, a pressure during the touch, a capacitanceduring the touch, and the like.

Further, the mobile terminal 100 may have a deformation detection meansfor detecting the deformation of the flexible display unit 151. Suchdeformation detection means may be included in the sensing unit 140 (seeFIG. 1 ).

The deformation detection means may be disposed in the flexible displayunit 151 or a case (first to third frames 101 to 103 to be describedlater) to detect information related to the deformation of the flexibledisplay unit 151. In this connection, the information related to thedeformation may include a direction in which the flexible display unit151 is deformed, a degree of the deformation, a deformed position, adeformed time, an acceleration at which the deformed flexible displayunit 151 is restored, and the like. In addition, the information relatedto the deformation may be various information that may be detected dueto the bending of the flexible display unit 151.

In addition, the controller 180 may change information displayed on theflexible display unit 151 or generate a control signal for controlling afunction of the mobile terminal 100 based on the information related tothe deformation of the flexible display unit 151 detected by thedeformation detection means.

The state conversion (first or second state) of the flexible displayunit 151, i.e., the size change at the front and rear faces of themobile terminal 100 of the display unit 151 based on the size change ofthe mobile terminal 100 may be performed manually by a force applied bythe user, but may be not limited to such manual scheme. For example,when the mobile terminal 100 or the flexible display unit 151 is in thefirst state, the mobile terminal 100 or the flexible display unit 151may be converted into the second state by the user or an applicationcommand without the external force applied by the user. As such, inorder for the flexible display unit 151 to be automatically deformedwithout the external force, the mobile terminal 100 may include adriving unit 200 to be described later.

The flexible display unit 151 of the present disclosure is bent 180degrees while being rolled on one of both sides of the mobile terminal100. Thus, a portion of the display unit 151 is disposed on the frontface of the mobile terminal 100 based on such side, and the otherportion thereof is disposed on the rear face of the mobile terminal 100.A portion of the display unit 151 located on the front face of themobile terminal 100 may be fixed to the front face so as not to move.Further, the other portion thereof located on the rear face of themobile terminal 100 may be movable to the rear face.

In addition, the display unit 151 may be rolled on or released from theside. Accordingly, the portion disposed on the rear face of the mobileterminal 100 moves, so that the size of the portion disposed on thefront face of the mobile terminal 100 may be adjusted. Since the area ofthe flexible display unit 151 is determined and the flexible displayunit 151 is formed of one continuous body, an area of the portion on therear face decreases as an area of the portion on the front faceincreases. Such a display unit 151 may be rolled in a second frame 102,which is movable relative to a first frame 101 to be described later,more correctly, on one of sides of the second frame 102. The displayunit 151 may be withdrawn or pulled out from or inserted or pushed intothe second frame 102 while being rolled in the second frame 102 along amoving direction of the second frame 102 to adjust the area of thedisplay unit 151 on the front face of the mobile terminal 100. Suchoperation will be described in more detail below along with otherrelevant components of the mobile terminal 100.

Typically, an antenna is disposed in the case or the housing of themobile terminal 100, but a portion where the antenna is installed in thecase or the housing may be limited because of the flexible display unit151 that covers not only the front face of the mobile terminal 100 butalso the rear face thereof. For this reason, the antenna may beimplemented on the flexible display unit 151. An antenna on display(AOD) is an antenna in which a transparent film is formed by stacking anelectrode layer and a dielectric layer that have patterns engravedthereon, respectively. The antenna on display may be implemented thinnerthan an antenna implemented using a laser direct structuring (LDS)technology using a conventional copper nickel plating scheme, so thatthe antenna on display may not be exposed to the outside withoutaffecting a thickness. In addition, the antenna on display may transmitand receive a signal directly to or from the display unit 151.Accordingly, the antenna on display may be used in the mobile terminal100 in which the display unit 151 is located on the both faces of themobile terminal 100 as in the present disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 , a detailed configuration of the mobileterminal 100 of the present disclosure will be described in detailbelow. A following description will be achieved basically with referenceto FIG. 2 illustrating an overall configuration. FIGS. 3 to 5 arereferred to to explain detailed features of corresponding components inthe first and second states of the mobile terminal 100.

The mobile terminal 100 of the present disclosure includes a main framein which components are mounted, and the main frame of the presentdisclosure may vary in size in the first direction as shown in FIG. 2 .One or more frames move relative to each other, and sizes thereof mayvary in the first direction. Electronic components are mounted in themain frame, and the flexible display unit 151 is located out of the mainframe.

Since the mobile terminal 100 of the present disclosure includes theflexible display unit, the flexible display unit 151 may be combined ina form surrounding a front face and a rear face of the main frame. Themain frame may include first to third frames 101 to 103. The main framemay include the first frame 101, the second frame 102 moving in thefirst direction with respect to the first frame 101, and the third frame103 moving in the first direction with respect to the second frame 102.The first frame 101 and the second frame 102 include front portions, arear portions, and side portions, respectively, and are coupled to eachother. Thus, the mobile terminal 100 may have a hexahedral outer shapeby such coupled first and second frames 101 and 102. In consideration ofan illustrated configuration of the first to third frames 101 to 103,movements of the second and third frames 102 and 103 may be a slidemovement.

First, the first frame 101 corresponds to a main body of the mobileterminal 100, and may have a space therein for accommodating variouscomponents. In addition, the first frame 101 may accommodate the secondframe 102 movably coupled to the first frame 101 in such a space. Morespecifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 , the first frame 101 mayinclude a first front portion 1011 disposed at a front portion of themobile terminal 100 and a first rear portion 1012 and a second rearportion 1013 disposed at a rear portion of the mobile terminal.

Such first front portion 1011, first rear portion 1012, and second rearportion 1013 may be respectively formed of plate-shaped members that aregenerally flat. The first rear portion 1012 and the second rear portion1013 may be respectively formed of separate members coupled to eachother or may be formed of one member as shown. The first front portion1011 and the first rear portion/second rear portion 1012 and 1013 may bespaced apart from each other at a predetermined spacing to define apredetermined space therebetween, and may be connected to each other bya side portion 1014. The controller 180 and the power supply unit 190may be accommodated as components of the mobile terminal 100 in thespace in the first frame 101. For example, the controller 180 may be acircuit board including a processor and an electronic circuit forcontrolling the operation of the mobile terminal, and the power supplyunit 190 may be a battery and related components. In addition, thesecond frame 102 and the driving unit 200 to described later may also beaccommodated in the first frame 101.

As described above, the display unit 151 has the continuous body, andthus, may be disposed on both the front face and the rear face of themobile terminal 100 while being rolled in the mobile terminal 100. Thedisplay unit 151 may include the front face positioned at the front faceof the mobile terminal 100, the rear face positioned at the rear face ofthe mobile terminal 100, and the side face positioned between the frontface and the rear face thereof and surrounding the side face of themobile terminal. The front face and the rear face of the display unit151 are flat, and the side face of the display unit 151 may form acurved face. When the flexible display unit 151 may be damaged whenbeing bent. Thus, the flexible display unit 151 may be formed to be bentwith a predetermined curvature.

The display unit 151 may be divided into a fixed portion and a variableportion. The fixed portion means a portion fixed to the frame. Becauseof being fixed to the frame, the fixed portion maintains a constantshape without changing a bending degree. On the other hand, the variableportion means a portion in which a bending angle or a position of thebent portion changes. The variable portion in which the position orbending angle of the bent portion changes requires a structure forsupporting a rear face of the variable portion in response to thechange.

A first region of the display unit 151 may be coupled to the first frontportion 1011 corresponding to the front face of the mobile terminal 100.

In one example, as shown in FIG. 4 , various physical input units 120for manipulation of the mobile terminal 100 and sensing units 140 may belocated on the first rear portion 1012, and the display unit 151 may bedisposed only on the second rear portion 1013. Since the first rearportion 1012 does not overlap the flexible display unit 151 regardlessof the state of the mobile terminal, and is always exposed to theoutside, the input unit 120 such as various buttons, switches, thecamera 121, and a flash, and the sensing unit 140 such as a proximitysensor 141 may be arranged on the first rear portion 1012. In aconventional bar-shaped terminal, a display unit is provided only on afront face of the terminal. Therefore, a main camera is placed on a rearface of the terminal in order for the user to capture an object at anopposite side while looking through the display unit. On the other hand,an additional auxiliary camera is required to be disposed on the frontface of the terminal in order for the user to capture himself or herselfwhile viewing himself or herself through the display unit.

However, the display unit 151 is positioned both the front face and therear face of the mobile terminal 100 of the present disclosure.Therefore, when the user captures himself or herself, a display unit onthe same face as the camera 121, that is, the portion of the display 151on the rear face of the mobile terminal 100 in the drawing may be used.Further, when the user captures the object on the opposite side of theuser, a display unit on the opposite face of the camera 121, that is,the portion of the display unit 151 on the front face of the mobileterminal 100 in the drawing may be used. For this reason, the mobileterminal 100 may capture the object on the opposite side of the user andcapture the user using the single camera 121. The camera may include aplurality of cameras having different angles of view, such as wideangle, super wide angle, and telephotographic cameras. In addition tothe camera, a proximity sensor sound output unit may be positioned onthe first rear portion 1012, and an antenna 116 may be installed on thefirst rear portion 1012.

The side portion 1014 may extend along edges of the first front portion1011 and the first rear portion/second rear portion 1012 and 1013 tosurround the first frame 101, and may form the outer shape of the mobileterminal 100. However, as mentioned above, since the second frame 102 isaccommodated in the first frame 101 and is movably coupled thereto, inorder to allow the movement of the second frame 102 relative to thefirst frame 101, a portion of the first frame 101 needs to be opened. Asshown in FIG. 2 , as an example, the second frame 102 is movably coupledto one of both side portions of the first frame 101, so that the sideportion 1014 may not be formed on the same side portion, and thus, theportion of the first frame 101 may be opened. Accordingly, the firstframe 101 may include a substantially closed first side portion 101 aand a second side portion 101 b, which is disposed to be opposite to thefirst side portion 101 a and is opened. The side portion 1014 is exposedto the outside of the mobile terminal 100, so that an interface unit 160for connecting a supply port or an ear jack, the user input unit 120such as a volume button, or the like may be disposed on the side portion1014. When containing a metal material, the side portion 1014 may serveas an antenna.

The second rear portion 1013 of the first frame 101 may be covered bythe display unit, but may be disposed on the front face of the displayunit using a transparent material.

The second frame 102 may include a second front portion 1021 disposed atthe front portion of the mobile terminal 100 and a third rear portion1022 disposed at the rear portion of the mobile terminal 100. Like thefirst front portion 1011 and the first rear portion 1012 of the firstframe 101, the second front portion 1021 and the third rear portion 1023may be formed of plate-shaped members that are generally flat. Inaddition, the second frame 102 also accommodates various components, andmust not interfere with the components accommodated in the first frame101 during the movement. Accordingly, the second front portion 1021 andthe third rear portion 1022 may be coupled to each other in a state ofbeing spaced apart from each other to define a predetermined spacetherebetween, and may have shapes that do not interfere with thecomponents in the first frame 101.

In addition, the display unit 151 may be bent 180 degrees while beingrolled in the second frame 102 to be disposed on both the front face andthe rear face of the mobile terminal 100. For such an arrangement of thedisplay unit 151, the second frame 102 may include a roller 1028rotatably disposed therein. The roller 1028 may be disposed at anyposition inside the second frame 102. However, the display unit 151should be spread flat on the front face and the rear face of the mobileterminal 100 to provide a good quality screen to the user. Further, forsuch spread, a proper tension must be provided on the display unit 151.In order to provide the proper tension, the roller 1028 may be disposedat a first directional end of the second frame 102. The roller 1028 mayextend in the third direction, and may be rotatably coupled to thesecond frame 102.

The display unit 151 may be rolled around the roller 1028 while beinggently bent with a predetermined curvature. The flexible display unit151 may include a first face on which a video is output and exposed tothe outside and an inner face facing the frame at the opposite side. Theroller 1028 may be installed to rotate freely in the second frame 102while being in contact with the inner face of the display unit 151.Accordingly, the roller 1028 may actually move the display unit 151 in alateral direction of the mobile terminal 100, that is, in a directionperpendicular to a longitudinal direction. As will be described later,when the second frame 102 slides, because of the tension applied by thesecond frame 102, the display unit 151 moves to the front face or therear face of the mobile terminal 100 in different directions (i.e., thefirst direction D1 or the second direction D2) relative to the secondframe 102. The roller 1028 may guide such movement while rotating.

In addition, the roller 1028 is disposed on a first side portion 102 aof the second frame 102, and the first side portion 102 a actuallycorresponds to an outermost side portion of the mobile terminal 100.When the first side portion 102 a of the second frame 102 is exposed,the display unit 151 rolled on the roller 1028 may be damaged.Accordingly, the second frame 102 may include a side frame 1024 disposedon the first side portion 102 a.

The side frame 1024 extends in the longitudinal direction of the secondframe 102 to cover the first side portion 102 a, thereby protecting theroller 1028 and the display unit 151 rolled thereon. That is, the sideframe 1024 covers the side face of the display unit 151, and the sideface thereof is located in the third region. The first to third regionsare at specified positions on the flexible display unit and do notchange in size or position, but the sizes of the front face and the rearface, and the position of the side face are determined based on thestate of the main frame.

The first region and the second region correspond to the fixed portiondescribed above, and the third region corresponds to the variableportion described above.

The third region may vary in position depending on the state of themobile terminal. Because the side face is rolled by the roller, the sideface is bent with the predetermined curvature, and an inner face of theside frame may include a curved face corresponding to the curvature ofthe side face.

Because of the side frame 1024, the second frame 102 may have thesubstantially closed first side portion 102 a, and the side frame 1024may substantially form the outer shape of the mobile terminal 100together with the side face 1014 of the first frame 101. In addition,the second frame 102 may include a second side portion 102 b that isdisposed opposite the first side portion 102 a to minimize interferencewith the components within the first frame 101 during the movement, andis opened.

Such a second frame 102 is movably coupled to the first frame 101, andthus may slide in the predetermined first or second direction D1 or D2relative to the first frame 101. More specifically, the second frame 102may be movably coupled to the first frame 101 through the side portionof the first frame 101, more precisely, through the opened second sideportion 101 b, as shown. More specifically, the second side portion 102b of the second frame is disposed relatively adjacent to the first sideportion 101 a of the first frame 101 which is closed. Accordingly, thefirst side portion 102 a of the second frame may be disposed to beopposite to the first side portion 101 a. Accordingly, the second sideportion 102 b is inserted into the first frame 101 through the sideportion of the first frame, that is, the second side portion 101 bthereof. The first side portion 102 a is not inserted into the firstframe 101 but is always located outside the first frame 101, therebyforming the outer shape of the mobile terminal 100 as described above.However, when necessary, such first side portion 102 b of the secondframe 102 may also be inserted into the first frame 101

Because of such positional relationship, the second frame 102 may extendfrom or contract to the first frame 101 in a direction perpendicular tothe longitudinal direction of the mobile terminal 100 or the first frame101. That is, the first and second directions D1 and D2 may basically bedirections perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the mobileterminal 100 or the first frame 101. Further, the first and seconddirections D1 and D2 may also be described as the lateral direction orthe horizontal direction of the mobile terminal 100 or the first frame101. In addition, during the movement in the first direction D1, thesecond frame 102 extends from the first frame 101. Accordingly, thefirst direction D1 may be a direction in which the second frame 102moves away from the first frame 101, that is, moves outwardly of themobile terminal 100 or the first frame 101. On the other hand, duringthe movement in the second direction D2, the second frame 102 contractsto the first frame 101. Thus, the second direction D2 is a directionopposite to the first direction D1, so that the second direction D2 maybe a direction in which the second frame 102 moves to become closer tothe first frame 101, that is, moves inwardly of the mobile terminal 100or the first frame 101. When being moved in the first direction D1, suchsecond frame 102 extends and applies a force to the portion of thedisplay unit 151 disposed on the rear face of the mobile terminal 100,so that the portion of the display unit 151 may be disposed on the frontface of the mobile terminal 100, and a region for such additionalarrangement may be defined. Thus, the second frame 102 may convert themobile terminal 100 into the second state with the display unit 151 withthe relatively extended front face by moving in the first direction D1.On the other hand, when being moved in the second direction D2, thesecond frame 102 contracts into an original state thereof, and applies aforce to the portion of the display unit 151 disposed on the front faceof the mobile terminal 100 to return to the rear face of the mobileterminal 100 again. Thus, the second frame 102 may convert the mobileterminal 100 into the first state with the display unit 151 with therelatively contracted front face by moving in the second direction D2.Accordingly, the second frame 102 selectively exposes the display unit151 to the front face of the mobile terminal 100 depending on the movingdirection (i.e., the first or second direction D1 and D2). Accordingly,the mobile terminal 100 may be converted into the first or second statedefined above.

During the expansion and the contraction in such first and seconddirections D1 and D2, the second frame 102 may overlap the first frame101, more precisely, the first front portion 1011 and the first rearportion 1012 thereof so as not to interfere with the first frame 101.More specifically, the display unit 151 may be coupled to and supportedby the first front portion 1011 of the first frame 101, as describedabove. Accordingly, the display unit 151 does not need to beadditionally supported by the second front portion 1021 of the secondframe 102. Rather, when the second front portion 1021 is interposedbetween the first front portion 1011 and the display unit 151, thedisplay unit 151 may be deformed or damaged because of friction with thesecond front portion 1021, which is repeatedly moved. Thus, the secondfront portion 1021 may be disposed below the first front portion 1011,as shown in FIG. 5 . That is, a front face of the second front portion1021 may face the rear face of the first front portion 1011. Inaddition, the rear face of the first front portion 1011 may be incontact with the front face of the second front portion 1021 to stablysupport the movement of the second frame 102.

The third rear portion 1022 of the second frame 102 may be disposedbelow the second rear portion 1013 of the first frame 101. That is, thefront face of the third rear portion 1022 may face the rear face of thesecond rear portion 1013. In addition, the rear face of the second rearportion 1013 may be in contact with the front face of the third rearportion 1022 to stably support the movement of the second frame 102.Because of such arrangement, the third rear portion 1022 may be exposedto the outside of the first frame, more precisely, of the second rearportion 1013, and may be coupled to the display unit 151.

Alternatively, when the second rear portion 1013 is made of atransparent material, the second rear portion 1013 may form an outershape of the rear face of the mobile terminal. The second rear portion1013 may be positioned rearward of the third rear portion 1022 of thesecond frame, and the flexible display unit may be disposed between thesecond rear portion 1013 and the third rear portion 1022 in the firststate.

When the second rear portion 1013 is made of a material such as atransparent glass to form the outer shape of the rear face of the mobileterminal, the first rear portion 1012 may be implemented using the samemember as the second rear portion 1013. That is, the camera 121, theflash or the sensing unit 140, and the like may be arranged by partiallycoating the plate-shaped member of the transparent glass material to notallow the internal components to be visible and by not coating only arequired portion.

In addition, the second frame 102 may expand and contract the size ofthe mobile terminal 100 itself, particularly the front face of themobile terminal 100 by the expansion and the contraction in the firstand second directions D1 and D2. Thus, the display unit 151 must move bysuch extended or reduced front face size to obtain the intended firstand second states. However, when being fixed to the second frame 102,the display unit 151 may not be moved smoothly to be adapted for thefront face of the mobile terminal 100 that is expanded or contracted.For this reason, the display unit 151 may be movably coupled to thesecond frame 102. More specifically, the display unit 151 may include afirst side edge (or side end) 151 d disposed on the front face of themobile terminal 100 and a second side edge 151 e opposite to the firstside edge 151 d and disposed on the rear face of the mobile terminal100. The first side edge 151 may be disposed on the front face of thefirst frame 101, that is, the front face of the first front portion 1011thereof, and may be disposed adjacent to the side portion of the mobileterminal 100, that is, the first side portion 101 a of the first frame.On the other hand, since the second side edge 151 e is adjacent to therear face of the mobile terminal 100 and the third rear portion 1022 ofthe second frame 102, the second side edge 151 e may is be coupled thethird rear portion 1022 of the second frame 102 to be movable in thefirst and second directions D1 and D2. In addition, since the displayunit 151 is not structurally strong, a third frame 103 may be coupled tothe second side edge 151 e. The third frame 103 may be formed of aplate-shaped member extending in the longitudinal direction of themobile terminal 100. Accordingly, the third frame 103 may be coupled tothe second frame, that is, the third rear portion 1022 thereof to bemovable in the first and second directions D1 and D2 instead of thesecond side edge 151 e. In addition, the second frame 102 may include aslot 1025 extending in the lateral direction of the mobile terminal 100or the second frame 102, that is, the direction perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction thereof. Further, the third frame 103 may bestably moved while being guided by the slot 1025. The third frame 103may include, for example, a projection inserted into the slot 1025 forthe movement along the slot 1025.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 , in connection with such configuration of thefirst to third frames 101, 102, and 103, the display unit 151 mayinclude a first region 1511 extending from one side thereof, that is,the first side edge 151 d toward the second side edge 151 e by apredetermined length, and a second region 1512 disposed opposite thefirst region 1511, and extending from the second side edge 151 e towardthe first side edge 151 d by a predetermined length. In addition, thedisplay unit 151 may include a third region 1513 disposed between thefirst and second regions 1511 and 1512. Such first to third regions1511, 1512, and 1513 may be connected to each other, and may form acontinuous body of the display unit 151. In addition, as describedabove, for the movement of the third region 1513 toward the front faceor the rear face of the mobile terminal 100 depending on the movingdirection of the second frame 102, the first region 1511 may be fixed soas not to move to the front face of the mobile terminal 100, and thesecond region 1512 may be provided to be movable on the rear face of themobile terminal. Such configuration of the display unit 151 will bedescribed in more detail below.

The first region 1511 may be disposed on the front face of the mobileterminal 100, more specifically, the first frame 101, that is, on thefront face of the first front portion 1011. The first region 1511 isfixed to the first frame 101, that is, the front face of the first frontportion 1011 so as not to be moved during the movement of the secondframe 102, and thus, the first region 1511 may always be exposed to thefront face of the mobile terminal 100. The third region 1513 may beadjacent to the first region 1511, and may extend into the second frame102 and rolled on the roller 1028. The third region 1513 mayconsecutively extend out of the second frame 102 again and partiallycover the second frame 102, that is, the rear face of the third rearportion 1022. Further, the second frame 102, that is, the third rearportion 1022, is adjacent to the first frame 101, that is, the secondrear portion 1013 and together forms the rear case of the mobileterminal 100, so that it may be described that the third region 1513 isalso disposed on the rear face of the first frame 101.

The second region 1512 may be adjacent to the third region 1513 and maybe disposed on the rear face of the mobile terminal 100, morespecifically, on the second frame, that is, the rear face of the thirdrear portion 1022 thereof. The second region 1512 may be coupled to thethird frame 103 without being directly coupled to the second frame 102.As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the slot 1025 extending in the lateral direction(i.e., the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of themobile terminal 100) to the second frame 102, that is, to the third rearportion 1022 is defined. Further, the third frame 103 may move along theslot 1025. In FIG. 4 (b), it is shown that the slot 1025 is defined inthe rear face of the second frame 102, but may be defined in the sideface of the second frame 102. Although the second region 1512 may movein the first or second direction D1 or D2 with respect to the secondframe 102 together with the third frame 103, the movement of the secondregion 1512 may be restricted within the rear face of the mobileterminal 100 by the slot 1025. That is, the second region 1512 does notmove out of the second frame 102 even when the second frame 102 isextended or contracted, and may move along the slot 1025 within thesecond frame 102 by the extended or contracted distance of the secondframe 102. Accordingly, the second region 1512 may always be exposed tothe rear face of the mobile terminal 100.

As a result, the first region 1511 may be disposed on the front face ofthe mobile terminal 100 and may be always exposed to the front faceregardless of the movement of the second frame 102, and the secondregion 1512 may be disposed on the rear face of the mobile terminal 100and may be always exposed to the rear face regardless of the movement ofthe second frame 102. In addition, the third region 1513 may be disposedbetween the first and second regions 1511 and 1512, and may beselectively placed on the front face or the rear face of the mobileterminal 100 depending on the moving directions D1 and D2 of the secondframe 102.

Because of such selective placement of the third region 1513, as shownin FIG. 4 (b), the second rear portion 1013 of the first frame 101 iscovered by the second and third regions 1512 and 1513 and the third rearportion 1022 of the display unit 151 in the first state, but the thirdregion 1513 moves to the front face of the mobile terminal 100 in thesecond state, and the third rear portion 1022 also moves in the firstdirection D1, so that the mobile terminal 100 may be exposed to theoutside. In addition, the second front portion 1021 of the second frame102 is disposed below the first front portion 1011 of the first frame101 in the first state, but is moved out of the first frame 101 andsupports the third region 1513 of the display unit 151 disposed on thefront face of the mobile terminal 100 in the second state.

Since the first and second regions 1511 and 1512 are always respectivelyarranged on the front face and the rear face of the mobile terminal 100,curvatures of the first region 1511 and the second region 1512 do notchange, and the first region 1511 and the second region 1512 may bemaintained in a flat basic state. However, the third region 1513 may berolled on the roller 1028 and bent in the second frame 102. Whenconverting from the first state to the second state, the third region1513 may extend from the second frame 102 to the front face of themobile terminal 100 while being rolled on the roller 1028 in onedirection. On the other hand, when converting from the second state tothe first state, the third region 1513 may be retracted from the frontface of the mobile terminal 100 to the second frame 102 while beingrolled on the roller 1028 in the opposite direction, and at the sametime, may return to the rear face of the mobile terminal 100 from thesecond frame 102. A specific location of the foldable mobile terminal ina form of being spread like a book is easily damaged because only thespecific location is folded repeatedly. On the other hand, the deformedportion of the flexible display unit 151, that is, a portion rolled onthe roller 1028, may vary based on the first and second states of themobile terminal 100, that is, the movement of the second frame 102.Accordingly, the mobile terminal 100 of the present disclosure maysignificantly reduce deformation and fatigue repeatedly applied to aspecific portion of the display unit 151, thereby preventing damage tothe display unit 151.

Based on the above-described configuration, overall operations of themobile terminal 100 will be described as follows. As an example, thestate conversion may be performed manually by the user, and an operationof the mobile terminal 100 during such manual state conversion will bedescribed. However, operations of the first to third frames 101 to 103and the display unit 151, which will be described below, may beperformed in the same manner when a power source other than a user'sforce is used, for example, when the driving unit 200 to be describedbelow is applied.

As shown in FIGS. 3A, 4A, and 5A, the second frame 102 is fullyretracted into the first frame 102 in the first state. Therefore, onlythe first region 1511 of the display unit 151 fixed to the front face ofthe first frame 101 may be exposed to the front face of the mobileterminal 100. Such first region 1511 may be fixed and supported to thefirst frame 101, that is, the first front portion 1011 thereof. Inaddition, a major portion of the third region 1513 may be disposed onthe rear face of the mobile terminal 100 together with the second region1512, and the third region 1513 may be disposed in the second frame 102while being partially rolled on the roller 1028. The third region 1513of the rear face of the mobile terminal 100 may be supported by thesecond frame, that is, the third rear portion 1022 thereof. The secondregion 1512 may be fixed by the third frame 103 disposed on the secondframe (i.e., the third rear portion 1022) and may be movably coupled tothe second frame 1012.

In such first state, when the second frame 102 moves in the firstdirection D1, the mobile terminal 100 may be converted into the secondstate. As shown in FIGS. 3B, 4B, and 5B, the second frame 102 may extendfrom the first frame 101 by the movement in the first direction D1, andmay increase the overall size of the mobile terminal 100, in particular,the front face thereof. During the movement in the first direction D1,the second frame 102 may apply a force, that is, a tension, to thedisplay unit 151 in the first direction D1. The display unit 151 isfixed to the first frame 101 but is coupled to the second frame 102 soas to be movable using the third frame 103, so that the force applied bythe second frame 102 allows the third region 1513 to be rolled out fromthe roller 1028 of the second frame 102 to the front face of the mobileterminal 100. That is, the third region 1513 may be withdrawn (or pulledout) from the second frame 102 or extend to (or move out of) the secondframe 102. At the same time, the third region 1513, particularly, theportion located on the rear face of the third region 1513 may be rolledinto the roller 1028 of the second frame 102 from the rear face, or maybe inserted (or pushed in), retracted, or moved into the second frame102. Not an entirety of the third region 1513 is withdrawn from thesecond frame 102 to the front face of the mobile terminal 100, and aportion of the third region 1513 may be disposed in the second frame 102while still being rolled on the roller 1028. In addition, for the smoothmovement of the third region 1513, the second region 1512 may also movein the first direction D1 with respect to the second frame 102 togetherwith the third frame 103.

In addition, as described above, the second region 1512 and the thirdframe 103 may be constrained to the second frame 102 and move in thefirst direction D1 with respect to the first frame 101 together with thesecond frame 102. Accordingly, the second region 1512 and the thirdframe 103 may move in the first direction D1 relative to the first frame101 as well as the second frame 102, and accordingly, move a distancelonger than the moved distance of the second frame 102. Thus, because ofsuch long distance movement in the first direction D1 of the secondregion 1512, the third region 1513 may be smoothly extended to the frontface of the mobile terminal 100. Further, for the movement of the thirdregion 1513, which is proportional to the expansion of the second frame102, the movement of the second region 1512 and the third frame 103 inthe first direction D1 may be performed simultaneously with the movementof such third region 1512 and second frame 102 in the first direction D1so as to be proportional to the movement of third region 1513 and secondframe 102.

When the second frame 102 is fully extended in the first direction D1,the first and third regions 1511 and 1513 may be arranged on the frontface of the mobile terminal 100, and only the second region 1512 may bedisposed on the rear face of the mobile terminal 100. Such first andthird regions 1511 and 1513 may be supported by the first frame (i.e.,the first front portion 1011 thereof) and the second frame (i.e., thesecond front portion 1021 thereof). In addition, the second frame 102,i.e., the third rear portion 1022 thereof exposes the second rearportion 1013 of the first frame while extending in the first directionD1, and supports the moving third region 1513. Therefore, in the secondstate, the mobile terminal 100 may have the extended front face displayunit 151.

On the other hand, when the second frame 102 moves in the seconddirection D2 in the second state, the mobile terminal 100 may againreturn into the first state as shown in FIGS. 3A, 4A, and 5A. The secondframe 102 may be contracted to the first frame 101 by the movement inthe second direction D2, and may reduce the overall size of the mobileterminal 100, particularly the front face thereof. The movement of thedisplay unit 151 during such movement of the second frame 102 may beperformed in a reverse order of the movement in the first direction D1described above. In brief, the third region 1513 may be rolled from thefront face of the mobile terminal 100 into the roller 1028 of the secondframe 102, or may be inserted, retracted, or moved into the second frame102. At the same time, the third region 1513 may be rolled, withdrawn,extended, or moved out of the roller 1028 of the second frame 102 to therear face of the mobile terminal 100. Not the entirety of the thirdregion 1513 may be withdrawn from the second frame 102 to the rear faceof the mobile terminal 100, and the portion of the third region 1513 maystill be placed in the second frame 102 while still being rolled on theroller 1028. In addition, for such smooth movement of the third region1513, the second region 1512 may also move in the second direction D2with respect to the second frame 102 together with the third frame 103.The second region 1512 and the third frame 103 may be constrained to thesecond frame 102 to move in the second direction D2 with respect to thefirst frame 101 together with the second frame 102. Accordingly, thesecond region 1512 and the third frame 103 may move relatively in thesecond direction D2 with respect to not only the second frame 102 butalso the first frame 101. As a result, the second region 1512 and thethird frame 103 may move in the second direction D2 a distance largerthan the moved distance of the second frame 102. Thus, because of suchlong distance movement of the second region 1512, the third region 1513may be smoothly returned to the rear face of the mobile terminal 100.Further, for the movement of the third region 1513 proportional to thecontraction of the second frame 102, the movements of the second region1512 and the third frame 103 in the second direction D2 may be performedsimultaneously with the movements of the third region 1512 and thesecond frame 102 in the second direction D2 to be proportional to themovements of the third region 1513 and the second frame 102. When thesecond frame 102 is completely contracted in the second direction D2,the mobile terminal 100 may be converted into the first state asdescribed above, and may have the display unit 151 with the front facethat is relatively reduced in comparison with the second state in thefirst state.

One surface of the flexible display unit 151 may output an image and beexposed to the outside, and the other surface of the flexible displayunit 151 may be combined with a frame supporting the flexible display151.

The first region of the flexible display unit 151 may be supported bythe first frame 101. The second region of the flexible display unit 151is supported by the third frame 103, but the third region is notdirectly coupled to the first to third frames 101, 102, and 103constituting the body of the mobile terminal. Since the third region(that is, a variable portion) has a variable curvature in either thebending position or the bending deformation, the third region requires adisplay frame having a curvature that can be changed in response to thevariable curvature.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exposed portion formed when the mobile terminal100 is extended. When the second frame 102 is extended by moving in thefirst direction, the side portion in the third direction and the sideportion in the fourth direction opposite to the third direction may beopened as shown in FIG. 6(a), or a portion of the front portion coveredwith the second frame 102 may be opened by a length corresponding to thedistance moved by the second frame 102 as shown in FIG. 6(b).

When all the sides located at the side portion located either in thethird direction or the fourth direction of the second frame 102 shown inFIG. 6(a) are covered, it is difficult to arrange the user input unit(e.g., button), the interface unit 160, the sound output unit 152, etc.at the side portion arranged either in the third direction or the fourthdirection of the mobile terminal 100. Specifically, as in the presentdisclosure, since the side portion of the first direction is surroundedby the display unit 151, it is difficult to utilize the side portion ofthe first direction, so that utilizing the side portion of the third orfourth direction is of importance. Hereinafter, the expression “sideportion of the third direction” will be described for convenience ofdescription, the scope or spirit of the present disclosure is notlimited thereto, and the present disclosure can also be applied to theside portion of the fourth direction located opposite to the sideportion of the third direction.

A member located at the side portion of the third direction of the firstframe 101 will hereinafter be referred to as a first side portion 1016,and a member located at the side portion of the third direction of thesecond frame 102 will hereinafter be referred to as the second sideportion 1026. In order to connect constituent components, for example,the interface unit, the user input unit, and the antenna located at thefirst side portion 1016 of the first frame 101, to a main board mountedinside the first frame 101, the second frame 102 may open at least aportion of the second side portion 1026 (see FIG. 6(a)).

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an antenna connection method according tothe shape of the second side portion 1026 of the second frame 102. FIG.7(a) illustrates that the second side portion 1026 of the second frame102 covers the entirety of the side portion of the third direction. FIG.7(b) illustrates that at least a portion of the second side portion 1026is opened as shown in FIG. 6 , and further illustrates a connection unit1014′ extending from the first side portion 1016 to the inner side ofthe first side portion 1016 through the opened portion. The first sideportion 1016 of the first frame 101 may include a conductive material.In order to use the first side portion 1016 as the antenna, the firstside portion 1016 of the first frame 101 must receive electricity from awireless communication unit, so that such electricity can be fed to thefirst side portion 1016 of the first frame 101 through the connectionunit 1014′. As shown in FIG. 7(b), the first side portion 1016 of thefirst frame 101 may be connected to the main board 181 through theconnection unit 1014′ extending through the open space of the secondside portion 1026 as shown in FIG. 7(b), so that the first side portion1016 can be electrically connected to the main board 181 through aconnection member 187 such as the C clip. In addition, the interfaceunit 161 or the user input unit may be disposed in the first sideportion 1016, and may be connected to the main board 181 located insidethe first frame 101. The open space may extend in the first direction bya length corresponding to the movement distance of the connection unit1014′ so that the connection unit 1014′ is not caught when the secondframe 102 moves in the first direction.

On the other hand, the second side portion 1026 as shown in FIG. 7(a)may be formed to cover the entirety of the side portion of the thirddirection, and may not provide a space in which the connection unit1014′ extending from the first side portion 1016 is to be located, suchthat electricity cannot be fed to the first side portion 1016.Accordingly, the second side portion 1026 should be formed to bepartially opened. As a result, the interface unit or the user input unitcan be disposed in the first side portion 1016, and the first sideportion 1016 can be used as the antenna.

However, the opened second side portion 1016 is not aestheticallypleasing because the internal components are exposed, and foreignsubstances can be introduced into the inside of the opened second sideportion 1016, such that a shielding structure is needed. In addition,the display unit 151 cannot be supported, such that the display unit 151can sag in the rear direction.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a mobile terminal 100 having a spring300. The spring 300 may be used to cover the exposed portion as shown inFIG. 6(a). FIG. 9 illustrates the spring 300 for covering the extensionportion of the mobile terminal 100. The spring 300 may be spirallywound, and may include an inner end 300 b located inside the spiral andan outer end 300 a located outside the spiral. The inner end 300 b maybe fixed to a central bracket 305 rotatably coupled to one side ofeither the first frame or the second frame 102. The outer end 300 a maybe fixed to the other side (to which the central bracket 305 is notfixed) of either the first frame 101 or the second frame 102.

When the second frame 102 moves in the first direction, the distancebetween the outer end 300 a and the central bracket 305 increases, sothat the central bracket 305 rotates and the spring is unwound. As shownin FIG. 8(a), in the first state, the spring 300 is wound, and thecentral bracket 305 is fixed to rotate around the thickness direction ofthe mobile terminal 100. As shown in FIG. 7(b), in the second state, thespring is unwound to cover the opened extension end.

As can be seen from the drawings, the central bracket 305 is fixed tothe second frame 102, and the outer end 300 a of the spring 300 is fixedto the first frame 101, without being limited thereto. In contrast, thecentral bracket 305 may be fixed to the first frame 101, and the outerend 300 a of the spring 300 may be fixed to the second frame 102 asneeded.

FIG. 10(a) is a cross-sectional view illustrating the mobile terminaltaken along the C-C of FIG. 8 . In FIG. 10(a), at least a portion of thesecond side portion 1026 of the second frame 102 is opened. FIG. 10(a)illustrates the connection unit 1014′ that passes through the open spaceof the second side portion 1026 and is formed such that the first sideportion 1016 of the first frame 101 extends inward. FIG. 10(b) is across-sectional view illustrating the mobile terminal taken along theline D-D of FIG. 8 . In FIG. 10(b), the spring is unwound, so that theunwound spring can cover the opened portion from among the second sideportion 1026 of the second frame 102 exposed when the first state isswitched to the second state through movement of the second frame 102.The spring 300 may cover the internal components so as not to beexposed, and may support the display unit 151 in the thickness directionat the extended portion so that the display unit 151 can be preventedfrom sagging.

The mobile terminal may further include a guide portion extending in thefirst direction so as to stably move in the first direction from thefirst frame. A guide rail may be formed in the first frame, and a guidepin 231 moving along the guide rail 232 may be formed in the secondframe. Alternatively, the guide rail may be formed in the second frame,and the guide pin 231 may be formed in the first frame. In addition tothe guide rail 232 and the guide pin 231, the first frame and the secondframe may also be used as a guide structure. For example, the mobileterminal may further include a rail-shaped frictional member located atthe end portion of a plate 1018 located on the first frame. Sincefrictional force continuously occurs in the frictional member 1025, theguide rail 232 or the guide pin 231, the frictional member 1025, theguide rail 232 or the guide pin 231 may be formed of polyoxymethylene(POM) corresponding to a highly rigid abrasion resistant material.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), the mobile terminal 100 may further include bezeldecorations 1017 and 1027 for covering the end portion of the thirddirection of the display unit 151 located on the front surface of themobile terminal 100 when viewed from the front surface of the mobileterminal. The bezel decorations 1017 and 1027 may be classified into afirst bezel decoration 1017 of the first frame 101 and a second bezeldecoration 1027 of the second frame 102. Whereas the first bezeldecoration 1017 is located at the same position on the display unit, thesecond bezel decoration 1027 moves in the first direction so that theend portion of the display unit 151 may be exposed and the internalcomponents of the display unit 151 may also be exposed as shown in FIG.6(b).

When the length of the first bezel decoration 1017 corresponds to thefirst-directional length of the first state, the second bezel decoration1027 may be omitted, but the third-directional side portion of thedisplay unit 151 located at the extended portion may also be exposed. Asa result, due to formation of the opened portion, the internalcomponents are exposed and the exposed internal components are notaesthetically pleasing, and the end portion of the display unit 151 isexposed, thereby deteriorating durability of the mobile terminal.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example of the mobile terminal 100 havingthe spring 300. Here, the spring 300 may be used to cover the openingformed at the front surface of the mobile terminal as shown in FIG.6(b). Since the open direction of FIG. 11 indicates the forwarddirection of the mobile terminal 100, the central bracket 305 may rotatearound the axis of rotation in the third direction.

The embodiment of FIG. 11 illustrates that the central bracket 305 islocated at the first frame 101 and the outer end 300 a of the spring 300is coupled to the second frame 102, without being limited thereto. Incontrast, the central bracket 305 may be rotatably coupled to the secondframe 102, and the outer end 300 a of the spring 300 may be coupled tothe first frame 101 as needed.

When the mobile terminal 100 switches to the second state, the mobileterminal 100 may cover the open portion of the extended portion formedby the switching action, thereby protecting the inside of the mobileterminal 100.

The mobile terminal can support the extended flexible display, so thatusability can be improved even in the extended state of the mobileterminal.

In addition, the user input unit, the interface unit, the antenna, etc.can be installed at a vertical side portion of the mobile terminal, sothat constituent components of the mobile terminal can be arranged in alimited space.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present disclosurewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present disclosure covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile terminal comprising: a first frame; asecond frame configured to switch from a first state to a second stateby moving in a first direction from the first frame, and to switch fromthe second state to the first state by slidably moving in a seconddirection opposite to the first direction in the second state; a thirdframe movable in the first direction or the second direction withrespect to the second frame; a flexible display unit including a firstregion coupled to the first frame, a second region coupled to the thirdframe, and a third region located between the first region and thesecond region and bent while surrounding the second frame; a centralbracket rotatably coupled to one side of the first frame or the secondframe; and a spring having an inner end portion fixed to the centralbracket and an outer end portion fixed to the other side of the firstframe or the second frame, wherein the spring is spirally wound in thefirst state and unwound in the second state.
 2. The mobile terminalaccording to claim 1, wherein: the central bracket rotates around anaxis of a thickness direction of the mobile terminal; and the springcovers a third-directional side portion and a fourth-directional sideportion, each of which is perpendicular to the first direction of thesecond frame in the second state.
 3. The mobile terminal according toclaim 1, wherein the second frame further includes: at least one bezeldecoration located at the front surface of the display unit when viewedfrom a third-directional side portion and a fourth-directional sideportion which are perpendicular to the first direction.
 4. The mobileterminal according to claim 3, wherein: the central bracket rotatesaround an axis of the third direction; and the central bracket covers anopen space formed by movement of the bezel decoration when the firststate is switched to the second state.
 5. The mobile terminal accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a main board mounted inside the firstframe and including a wireless communication unit, wherein the firstframe includes: a first front portion to which a first region of thedisplay unit is coupled; a second rear portion arranged to be spacedrearward from the first front portion; a first side portion located at athird-directional side portion and a fourth-directional side portionthat are perpendicular to the first direction, and interposed betweenthe first front portion and the second rear portion; and a connectionportion extending inward from the first side portion and connected tothe wireless communication unit of the main board.
 6. The mobileterminal according to claim 5, wherein: the second frame furtherincludes: a second front portion located at a rear surface of the firstfront portion; and a second side portion located between a side surfaceof the display unit and the first side portion at an end portion of thesecond front portion, wherein the second side portion is disposedfarther forward than the connection unit.
 7. The mobile terminalaccording to claim 6, wherein the first frame further includes: aseparation plate located at a rear surface of the second front portion;and a guide rail coupled to the second frame, and configured in a mannerthat an end portion of the separation plate is inserted into the guiderail so that the guide rail moves.